Spending a week with Chrome OS

For the past week, I've been using Google's Chrome OS pilot Cr-48 laptop as my primary computer. I've been trying to find
out whether it's possible to be productive armed with just a web
browser and pretty much nothing else.

Chrome OS
is an operating system developed by Google that's pretty much as
stripped-down as you can get. You can't install programs. You don't
get a desktop. There's no real local storage. Instead you have to
embrace the cloud -- using web apps and web storage to get things
done.

The idea is that if you don't have to load a bazillion drivers
and software libraries when you start up the computer, you can cut
boot times enormously. That's definitely the case -- the Cr-48 can
go from cold to a login screen in about seven seconds.

Logging into Chrome OS is accomplished using your Google ID. Once in, you'll be automatically logged into any
Google services, such as Gmail and Google Calendar, and if you've
set up Chrome's cloud sync functionality then it'll also pull in
any bookmarks, extensions and themes automatically too. Watching
your computer quickly personalise itself to you after you log in is
just that little bit magic.

Google's paid a lot of attention to small details in the
development of Chrome OS. One of the nicest features is how pop-ups
like notifications and chat windows sit on top of your browser. You
can close them, or just minimise them so they occupy a couple of
pixels at the very bottom of the screen. If you get a chat message,
they'll inch up a little further to let you know there's something
to see, and they can be reordered at will.

It's also a great machine to give to technophobes -- Chrome OS
is simply and easy to understand, and those users are less likely
to need the grunt of desktop programs. Don't forget the security benefits either --
the way Chrome OS is happy to install its own updates quietly in
the background, and the near-absence of any extra software to
compromise, means that there's no mucking around with antivirus
programs.

Systems settings are accessed through Chrome's wrench icon. In
addition to the normal Chrome settings, you get the option to
adjust touchpad, date/time and language settings, enable
accessibility, manage users and switch between different Wi-Fi
and 3G networks.

Chrome OS automatically downloads updates in the background,
which are then pushed to your device as you reboot. On Windows or a
Mac, this would be a pain. I'd have to save my work, close all my
programs, wait for the updates to be installed, reboot, log back in
and then start everything up again.

On the Cr-48, a system update rather fortuitously popped up as I
was writing this post. Installing it was a breeze. Hit the button
to restart, wait a moment for it to shut down and reboot, log in,
click the reopen tabs button and I was back to where I started in
no more than about 20 seconds.

Comments

And how do you work when you're offline?wg

Wendy M. Grossman

Apr 4th 2011

In reply to Wendy M. Grossman

I have one to beta test. It comes with a (IIRC) 16 GB SSD, so you can save documents and such locally, and Google Docs has an Offline feature where it will sync up when you do get online again. It's not perfect, but you can work offline if you have to.And the Chrome Laptop does have build-in 4G connection and 100mb free a month.